


Shootin' Stars

by lucidscreamer



Series: 100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [27]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Alternate Universe - Western, Drabble Sequence, Eventual Romance, Fae & Fairies, Far Future, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, POV Mutou Yuugi, So far in the future it feels like the past, The romance is a subplot not the focus, cattlepunk, weird western
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 96
Words: 9,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer
Summary: On a frontier planet, Yugi Mutou finds himself on the run from a corrupt cattle-baron and a sheriff on the take. Fleeing into the wilderness with a posse on his heels, Yugi hopes to make it to the border. But Yugi's failing mechquine and the perils of the wild may do the sheriff's job for him. Fortunately, Yugi finds help from an unexpected quarter, a healer named Atem.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi
Series: 100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266368
Comments: 292
Kudos: 33
Collections: AUgust 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No ownership of the canon characters, settings, or events is claimed and none should be implied.
> 
> Original settings and lore are the creation and property of Lucidscreamer.
> 
> Prompts:  
> 28\. Shooting Stars (100 YGO Themes)  
> 11\. farm/ranch au (AU-gust 2020)  
> 22\. futuristic au (AU-gust 2020)  
> 27\. solar/lunar eclipse (30 Sci-Fi)  
> 19\. Frontier Doctor and a Patient who is a Wanted Man (10 Harlequins)
> 
> NOTES: There are some other minor characters in this, but they're mostly just mentioned so I didn't tag them. It takes a while to get to the romance subplot, but I promise it's there.
> 
> "Mechquine" is a term that I came up with for "mechanical horse" ('mech' from mechanical and 'quine' from equine). Pronounced mehk- kwine.

Yugi would be the first to admit that things would've gone more smoothly with a plan. Preferably a plan that didn't involve riding hell-bent for leather through the Waylands on a stolen mechquine that was at least a month overdue for maintenance.

The sun sauntered higher into the cloudless sky, shrinking the shadows and turning the heat from merely baking to full-on broil. It gave Yugi an appreciation for why the original settlers had named this peak the Forge. The air shimmered and danced above the parched soil, taunting him with visions of false water forever just beyond his reach.


	2. Chapter 2

Sweat meandered down his neck and plastered his shirt to his torso. Sore from the long ride and half-delirious from the heat, he began to wonder if the energy it would take to get out of this mess was worth the effort. As if agreeing with him, the mechquine shuddered under him and made a racket like a metal bar caught in a grain-thresher.

"Don't you dare die on me now." Yugi wrapped the reins around the saddlehorn, freeing his uninjured hand to open the panel on the mechquine's neck. Half the read-outs were blinking red, warning of imminent failure. 


	3. Chapter 3

Yugi'd be lucky to make it out of this canyon, much less across the border. "Damn it... C'mon, you clunker. Just a few more kliks, then you can fall apart."

If the mechquine dumped him now, he'd die out here in the wastes. Maybe the carrion eaters would pick his bones clean before Sheriff Bakura found him. He had to put as many kliks between him and his pursuers as possible before the mechquine went to that big barn in the sky. 

He feared Bakura mightn't bother taking him back to Domino, just zap him and claim trail "justice" instead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, (Yami) Bakura is the sheriff. XD After all, if there's an outlaw, there's got to be a lawman chasing him. But consider: /Yugi/ is the outlaw. So what kind of sheriff does that make Bakura?
> 
> Slight warning: mentions of past, off-screen character death (Solomon Mutou).

Crossing his fingers, Yugi hit the reset switch and prayed that the mechquine would hold together just a little longer. It lurched beneath him, then kept plodding along.

Time passed in a muddle of heat, pain, and the creak and groan of strained metal joints. Yugi's thoughts strayed to the treasure hidden in his saddlebag: the golden puzzle he'd inherited from Grandpa.

Grandpa's last recorded words had warned Yugi that unscrupulous men wanted the puzzle. (There'd been some pretty unscrupulous women, too, but then Grandpa had never been the kind to flinch from a pretty woman, no matter her scruples.)


	5. Chapter 5

In his younger days, Grandpa had feasted on the meat of Adventure. He'd plundered treasure from forgotten tombs, gambled his way across several continents (and one moon), had more close-calls than any man should've survived. The tale of his winning the puzzle from the spirit of an ancient king had thrilled Yugi as a child; he'd coaxed it from Grandpa as a favorite bedtime story for years. 

With the wisdom of years, Yugi began to see that Grandpa had made enemies along the way. Now the worst of those enemies, with the law in his pocket, was after the puzzle.


	6. Chapter 6

By noon, the baleful eye of the sun blazed down on Yugi from a hot copper sky. Adjusting his hat lower so that the brim shaded more of his face, he wiped futilely at the sweat stinging his eyes. 

Beneath him, his stolen mount creaked and groaned with the effort of climbing the steep trail winding between the striated walls of the dry river course. The air lay over the land, as still and stifling as a spider-wool blanket, and the only sounds were the mechanical whirs of the mechquine and the clip-clop of its hooves on the sun-baked rocks. 


	7. Chapter 7

Yugi wished he'd had time to acquire better transportation, but his precipitous departure from Necrophades Ranch had meant taking whatever he could find on short -- and violent -- notice.

Both Yugi and the mechquine bore the marks of their violent departure: Yugi sported burns from Bakura's nova-rifle and the clunker had leaked vital fluids for kliks before its tanks emptied. 

Now the machine's innards were pinging a low-fuel warning. Yugi reckoned he'd seen smoke drifting from the nose vents, too. At least it'd stopped trailing coolant for Yugi's pursuers to follow, but the mechquine wasn't going to keep running without fuel.


	8. Chapter 8

When the wily-wisps began to dance in the corners of his vision, Yugi tried to ignore the little sparks of luminescence. There were cautionary tales of what became of unwary travelers who succumbed to the wily-wisps' lure. 

No-one knew for certain what they were -- insects or pollen or some kind of airborne fungus -- but everyone knew to beware when the wily-wisps appeared. But Yugi also knew that they needed water and vegetation, so they couldn't have come from this barren landscape.

If he backtracked to their place of origin, he might find the fuel the mechquine needed to go on.


	9. Chapter 9

The wily-wisp swarm thinned out as he rode, trailing a comet's tail of flickering points of light. Gradually, the unforgiving stone gained small pockets of soil collected in sheltered depressions from which sprouted sparse and scraggly vegetation: wiry grasses and a few overly-optimistic saplings.

He let the mechquine graze as it plodded along. Sparkgrass would be better, or fairysmoke, but beggars couldn't be choosers and what little energy the wire-grass held would keep them moving. As long as Clunker's refinery held out, anyway.

Yugi was beginning to hope again when he felt it, a low rumble more sensation than sound.


	10. Chapter 10

The long, low rumble came from what he’d assumed was yet another rock, the same orange-red as it's neighbors and about the size of an aurochs calf. What he'd taken for fallen scree surrounding the "boulder" became claws and a scaly, spiked tail that twitched as he watched. Beneath Yugi, Clunker ignored the steadily increasing rumble and continued to graze, which meant the mechquine's threat detection system was as borked as everything else about it.

Dragons, grumpy critters with permanent heartburn, were better left alone. 

Yugi hauled on the reins, dug in his heels, and got the hell outta Dodge.


	11. Chapter 11

It wasn't until water splashed onto his boots that Yugi realized his blind, fear-fueled dash away from the slumbering dragon had gained him the river.

The Ruddle was a thick, ocher-colored trickle clinging to the liquid side of mud by mere millimetres. The water wasn't drinkable, even with the filtration in his canteen, but he was almost thirsty enough to try. Clunker needed coolant, but its in-built filters might be overwhelmed, and with the mechquine already on its last legs Yugi didn't dare risk it. 

He tugged the reins, nudged his heels into Clunker's dusty flanks, and urged it onward. 


	12. Chapter 12

Thicker vegetation hugged the sludgy riverbank. Yugi let Clunker graze as it plodded along, trusting its systems to know what was suitable as fuel. They passed through a patch of fairysmoke with pink plumes that rustled -- _shush, shush_ \-- against Clunker's legs and released clouds of spark-bright pollen to glitter in their wake. Clunker, programmed to ignore the fairy-pollen as it ignored the wily-wisps, snorted the glitter from its vents and walked on. 

On the far side of the escarpment, a lone keg tree promised hydration for them both. When Yugi drank, nothing had ever tasted better than that tepid water.


	13. Chapter 13

With Clunker fueled and watered, Yugi felt more optimistic about his chances. None of Clunker's nav-systems worked, so Yugi'd have to trust the stars to guide him; the tip of the Great Bull's eastern horn should lead him to Boliéta Pass, but it was risky. Bakura could be waiting there if Yugi took the direct route. 

But what choice did he have? He'd been running on instinct since he'd escaped the ranch: stealing the first transportation he found, riding hell-for-leather into the wilderness. He was running for his life, alone, low on supplies... with stolen goods hidden in his saddlebags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boliéta, a Swiss Kobold, distinguished himself by leading cows safely through the dangerous mountain-paths, and keeping them sleek and happy. (from "Brownies and Bogles" by Louise Imogen Guiney)
> 
> Seemed a fitting name to use for this. :)


	14. Chapter 14

With nothing to occupy his mind as he rode, Yugi's thoughts drifted back to when this all started. Had it really only been this morning? It seemed longer.

Yugi'd been fixin' to head to the field when the messengerbot buzzed him. The gray, birdlike bot hovered at head-height until he acknowledged it, then opened its beak to play its recorded message.

_"Mutou: come to Necrophadus Ranch in thirty or the next message'll be at the business end of a blastol."_

Not Zorc's first threat, but maybe the least subtle. Yugi'd decided this time he'd better do as he'd been told.


	15. Chapter 15

Necrophadus Ranch sprawled over most of Domino Valley and its foothills. Zorc was new to the area, a cattle-baron intent on expanding his empire with thriving herds of aurochs, camelids, and _bleu_ _boeuf_. No-one knew how he'd made his fortune, but rumors ran rampant about unsavory dealings. Yugi didn't know how much truth was in those rumors, but he did know that Zorc kept bad company these days, including Sheriff Bakura and (so they said) a cadre of occultists aiming to wake the ancient beings -- the original peoples of this world -- legend claimed slumbered in magical stasis beneath the hills.


	16. Chapter 16

Grandpa'd never bowed to Zorc's demands and Yugi wasn't about to start. He didn't know why the cattle-baron wanted the Mutou farm but the more Zorc pressed, the less Yugi trusted him. Tucking his greatest treasure into his pocket, Yugi mounted the lectric-buckboard and started the long drive to the ranch.

No time to call for help. Joey and Tristan were on a round-up, and even if they weren't, he wouldn't risk them getting hurt. Calling on the sheriff was worse than useless; Yugi was half-surprised Sheriff Bakura hadn't just hog-tied Yugi and hauled him off like a stray calf. 


	17. Chapter 17

In Domino, the position of sheriff was hardly coveted. Previous holders had died before celebrating a second anniversary in office; some hadn't reached their first. It was vacated so often at the guns of outlaws with better reflexes than morals that the town couldn't find a local who'd take the job. Finally, the city council had to take the first man who'd offered interest, a stranger named T.K. Bakura.

Bakura came recommended by absolutely no-one of good conscience. That _Zorc_ vouched for the man should've been warning enough. Bakura held his post by shooting first and asking questions never.


	18. Chapter 18

Yugi'd refused Zorc to his face and lived to tell the tale. Their previous interactions had been through Zorc's flunkies, rough men who'd all looked like they'd prefer to do more than threaten. 

After Yugi's refusal to sell his land, Zorc stormed away. Left to his own devices in a locked room, Yugi immediately looked for a way out. In his search, he came across a box holding several golden objects that resembled his treasure. Coincidence? Nah, and so he'd grabbed them before climbing out the window.

He'd taken the first transportation he found. Unfortunately for him, he found Clunker.


	19. Chapter 19

Yugi'd paid no attention to his destination at first. Once he'd calmed enough to consider his whereabouts, he was on the wrong side of the river. Impenetrable thickets to each side and the sheriff behind had forced Yugi away from the route back to Domino.

Eventually, he'd found the trail -- aptly named The Chute -- that funneled through the canyons and into the wilderness that formed a border between Domino and Arcadia. If he made the border, he'd be safe (from the law, at least). At worst, he'd hide in the hills for awhile, then try to get word to Joey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated the summary, prompts, and tags. My plot changed on me, as plots are wont to do.


	20. Chapter 20

The eerie howl of some distant critter startled Yugi out of his reverie. His gaze flew to the darkening sky; shocked, he realized night was falling fast. Better start looking for shelter.

The badlands were dangerous enough in daytime; after sunset, the big predators would begin to hunt. Clunker was safe enough -- though some dragons ate metal, their numbers were low as early settlers had hunted them to near extinction -- but plenty of things dined on flesh, blood, and bone.

If he didn't want to be something's supper, Yugi needed to find somewhere safer to hole up for the night.


	21. Chapter 21

Tiny, russet scrub squirrels chattered in the leaves as Yugi hauled the reins and guided Clunker off the path into the thicket. Beyond the riverbanks, low hills rose gradually toward the distant ridges of the Drachenzähne mountains. Stunted shrub and willow gave way to bigger trees as the hills gathered a wooded cloak about themselves. Tough grass yielded to leaf-litter then tender moss beneath Clunker's hoofs.  
  
Overhead, the sky was the color of a fresh bruise just visible through the branches. Soon even that disappeared as the trees grew closer together, a hush falling over the woods at Yugi's intrusion.


	22. Chapter 22

Leading Clunker, Yugi ventured further into the copse, moss beneath his boots silencing his steps. He considered bedding down on the moss -- springy as a cushion! -- before he noticed the eye-like orbs on thin stalks protruding from the gray-green lichen clinging to the tree roots. When he shifted, the stalks twisted to follow the movement.

Shuddering, he tilted his head back and wondered if he could climb a tree. There was a folded hammock in his saddlebags; he could string it between branches and sleep safely off the ground. A tall oak would work.

Provided he could get up there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The eyeball lichen is a nod to _Labyrinth_.


	23. Chapter 23

Something howled again from somewhere on the ridge, a long ululating call that drove a fresh spike of urgency through Yugi's chest. Yep, spending the night in a tree sounded like a right smart idea. All he had to do was figure out a way to get into the dang tree to start with.

Behind him, Clunker vented steam and Yugi whirled, eyeing the mechquine with sudden inspiration. Maybe he was too short to reach those branches from the ground, but if he stood on Clunker's back...

Minutes -- and some creative cussing -- later, Yugi was hanging his hammock between branches.


	24. Chapter 24

Night deepened the shadows beneath the trees into bottomless pools swallowing every hint of light. From his perch high above the ground, Yugi swayed in his hammock and listened to the soft hush of the wind through the leaves surrounding him. Nearby, the sharp _sweeter-sweeet_ of a cassia bird was answered by a trespassing rival. The lullaby of the night -- chirping insects, the rustle of small animals in the underbrush, gentle birdsong and whispering breeze -- had almost lulled him to sleep when he heard it.

Around him, everything stilled as the eerie ululation of a hunting hedgehound split the quiet.


	25. Chapter 25

Huddled in his stolen hammock, Yugi listened as the echoes of the hedgehound's high-pitched cry faded. How far away was it? Was it tracking his scent? Did it mean Bakura'd found Yugi's trail?

Yugi was armed, but only because whoever owned Clunker had left his holster hooked over the saddlehorn. It was a six-shot blastol, fully charged and better maintained than the poor mechquine. Yugi was a decent shot; you had to be, on the frontier. 

Taking potshots at the hedgehound might prove necessary. But he didn't think he could bring himself to wing _somebody_ , much less shoot to kill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been extremely sick and writing these drabbles has been so helpful in taking my mind off that. Thanks to everyone who has supported this with comments, kudos, etc.


	26. Chapter 26

Yugi hadn't meant to sleep. But, wrung out from the desperate ride and the tension of waiting, he eventually fell into strange dreams. He started awake at the loud clank of multiple mechquines clattering up the slope.

"Trail leads into the trees, Sheriff!"

They'd found him. 

Yugi crept cautiously onto the nearest branch, moving slowly so as not to give away his position. Clunker stood below, a dead give-away. Dammit, what now? Could he drop to the saddle from here?

Something big crashed through the trees behind him. Because the posse wasn't enough trouble. Why did the universe hate him?


	27. Chapter 27

Inching back, Yugi leaned around the trunk and peered through the leaves. The new sounds, the steady _snap_ of breaking branches accompanied by a strange _plop-hiss_ like sizzling fat on a griddle, was coming closer. So was the noise of the approaching posse.

As quietly as possible, Yugi stretched and climbed to a higher branch. From this new vantage, he could see... The dad-blasted dragon had followed him.

Venom dripped from its jaws as it scented the air, splashing the ground with bright spots of gold where the secretion hit the vegetation: _plop-hiss_. 

Dammit, he was deader'n a door nail.


	28. Chapter 28

The dragon's mouth stretched wide as it yawned. It could swallow Clunker in two bites and would if it spotted the mechquine. Dragons like this one devoured metal, refined and ore, converting it to tiny amounts of gold exuded in their venom and ichor. Its scales glittered in the dappled light.

Clunker wasn't much, but Yugi needed him. Maybe the dragon would by-pass them for the bigger meal trotting up the trail? It'd leave the men so long as they didn't rile it up. Then Yugi could hightail it outta there.

Yugi prayed to any god who was listening. _Help_!


	29. Chapter 29

Yugi was between a rock and a hard place: posse and 'hound on one side, dragon on the other. 

"Hound's got 'im--"

Roughly half the size of Clunker, the hedgehound was a writhing mass of thorny canes twisted into a vaguely canine shape as it slunk into view. Its mottled hide started dark green at the muzzle, shading lighter along neck and flank 'til it turned pale yellow at the tip of its whip-like tail. Lifting its head, it fixed jaundiced eyes on Yugi and bayed.

"Give it up, Mutou!" Bakura was close. "We've gotcha surrounded."

"Stop! There's a dragon!"


	30. Chapter 30

"You're a few charges short of a full blastol if ya think we're believin' that boeufshit," scoffed a voice Yugi recognized as belonging to "Bandit" Keith Howard. Not the worst of Bakura's lot, but... 

Honestly, Yugi kinda hoped the dragon ate all their mechquines. Least if they were all hoofin' it, the odds'd be more even. "Move, Clunker."

Clunker ignored him.

"You know what's good for ya, Mutou, you'll come quiet-like--"

Drawn by the commotion, the dragon galumphed over to Yugi's tree. Venom splashed onto the hedgehound, which sizzled. Yelping, it skedaddled into the brush.

"Fool dog! Get back here!" 


	31. Chapter 31

Well, at least that was one less thing for Yugi to worry about. Not that crooked lawmen and a dragon weren't enough to fully occupy his mind.

Clinging like a cocklebur to the tree, Yugi closed his eyes and tried to become one with the bark. He winced at the crunch and shriek of dragon teeth chomping down on metal. _Farewell, Clunker, I hardly knew you_.

Panicked shouting let him know Bakura and his posse'd spotted the dragon. Aural chaos ensued as the lawmen turned tail and fled, roaring dragon hot on their heels.

Yugi grabbed his saddlebags and ran.


	32. Chapter 32

In the chaos, Yugi'd forgotten about his injuries but awareness returned with a vengeance once he was away from the little copse. It was still night, though thankfully the moons were waxing so there was plenty of light to see by as he trekked into the foothills.

The going was a lot slower without Clunker. On foot, Yugi jumped at every rustle of tall grass or snapping twig. He'd already encounter two predators tonight (not counting Bakura); he could do just fine without running into more.

Saddlebags over his shoulder, he followed the moonslight's silver trail deeper into the wild.


	33. Chapter 33

There was a narrow game path winding through the undergrowth, trampled by wild aurochs or unicorns. Yugi sincerely hoped, as he set out along the trail, it wasn't unicorns. 

'Corns were nothing like the graceful critters in the old tales. Virginity didn't matter to them; 'corns hated everyone equally. They were brutish bundles of compact muscle and bad attitude on four cloven hoofs. After enough settlers died, they learned to avoid the unicorns and their deadly horns.

He'd have to stay alert, a task made difficult by fatigue and pain. But he hadn't come so far to fail now.


	34. Chapter 34

Yugi stared at the moons. Grandpa'd visited one once, or so he'd said, before the Change. No-one knew what caused it; they just knew that some technology no longer worked and some animals, unable to adapt, died off. Others mutated, giving rise to things like hedgehounds and bleu boeuf.

Some said it heralded the Awakening, when the mythical First Folk would return to claim their lands. Of course, no-one knew much about them either. Their enigmatic ruins were scattered over the planet, but nothing of their history survived. People built them up into something otherworldly, magical, both feared and loved.


	35. Chapter 35

Yugi found a stream and drank, then bathed his face in the cool water. He soaked his bandanna and draped it over his burned forearm, grateful for the relief it provided. The only sounds were the chuckling stream, the chattering birds, and the small critters scampering through the leaves. Smelling of clean water and green growing things, the gentle breeze teased his bangs and soothed his overheated skin. Under his boots, the moss was springy and soft.

The temptation to lie down and rest was strong. So strong, he almost didn't see the aklys before its vines wrapped around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aklys plant is named for the Greek goddess Achlys who symbolized the "mist of death". The association comes from the sedating mist the plant sprays at its victims. There is a real plant genus Achlys ( which includes the vanilla leaf plant) but it is nothing like my fictional aklys. 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achlys (the goddess)
> 
> As you've probably noticed, I'm seeding a lot of different mythologies into my worldbuilding here. Since this is a far future setting, I figure the lore would get blended, changed (as it does), and grow to include the things the settlers found on their new world.


	36. Chapter 36

Yugi shouted in surprise as the vines lashed at him. Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled backward, his brain shrieking at him to run. He could see the aklys' poison in the air now, a faint pall glimmering in the sunlight. The predatory plant sedated its prey, then dragged its sleeping victim into an acid-filled reservior where it could digest them at leisure.

He splashed through the stream, out of reach of the questing vines. He'd lost his hat, but thankfully his saddlebags were safe, flung over his shoulder. 

Awake now and shaking from the close call, Yugi hurried away.


	37. Chapter 37

Yugi'd never ventured so far into the wild hills. He didn't know of anyone who had, least ways not anyone who'd returned to tell about it. Plenty of folks'd vanished in one way or another, remembered in ballads and tall-tales around campfires. 

Yugi hoped he wasn't about to join their ranks. If he disappeared out here, lost to the wild, Zorc'd have his victory without even getting Yugi's blood on his hands.

Exhausted, he leaned against a tree and let the saddlebags slide to the ground. He found some jerky and chewed on it, trying not to notice the taste.


	38. Chapter 38

"Where do you wander, O human child?"

The voice jerked Yugi from his reverie. Startled, he looked up. Above him, perched on a branch, crouched a dark-haired girl with a bow slung on her back.

Indignant, he squinted up at her. "What d'you mean, 'human child'? I'm twenty-five!"

She just grinned at him. "It's a quote. Do you not know the classics?"

He knew folks like Zorc, or those Kaibas who owned the airships that brought goods from the cities, thought him ignorant but for the frontier Yugi was well-educated. Still, "Never heard it."

She dropped down beside him. "Listen..."


	39. Chapter 39

"' _Do you wander, O human child,_  
 _into the deep Wild Wood?_  
 _Do you seek the Folk lost long ago,_  
 _to wake for ill or good_?'"

Yugi frowned thoughtfully. "It's about the First Folk?"

Clapping her hands, the girl nodded, then sobered. She frowned at his arm. "Why's your arm wrapped up like that?"

"It got burned."

"You're hurt? Oh, no!" Her hands fluttered, as if she hankered to reach for him but was stopping herself. "But what're you doing way out here? Why aren't you getting help?"

"Long story." Yugi was so tired.

"Come with me, human child. I'll help you."


	40. Chapter 40

Yugi hesitated. He needed help, no doubt about it, but he didn't know this girl and he'd heard tales about the badlands. So far, everything he'd encountered had been as bad as advertised.

"Where to?" he asked, shifting away from her reaching hands.

"Oh, I've been rude!" Her cheeks blushed as she ducked her head. "I'm Mana. If you come with me to my house, my brother can help you. He's a healer."

"You live out here?" He didn't think anyone lived in the wilderness.

"Well, not here--" She indicated the woods. "--but not far."

His arm ached. "...All right."


	41. Chapter 41

"I'm Yugi. Yugi Mutou."

"Pleased to meet you, Yugi Mutou." Mana bounced on the balls of her feet. "Come on, I'll take you to my brother."

The pain from his burns had been getting worse, exacerbated by sweat and incautious movements, so Yugi just nodded and followed her when she started along the game trail.

"You were headed in the right direction." Mana glanced back at him. 

"Lucky, I guess. I lost my mechquine, got chased into the woods by a dragon and a hedgehound..." Honesty forced him to add, "And a posse."

Her gaze sharpened. "The law's after you?"


	42. Chapter 42

"Zorc's a cattlebaron. He's been trying to strong-arm me into selling my family's land. When I took off, he sent the sheriff after me." Yugi debated with himself, then added, "I stole some things from him on my way out."

"And he shot you." Mana eyed his injured arm, then cocked her head. "How'd you end up on foot?"

"Dragon ate my mechquine."

She giggled. "Sorry. But you sure have had a poor run of it. Did he curse you, too?"

"Sure is starting to feel like it." Yugi hadn't even believed in curses, but he was ready to now.


	43. Chapter 43

"So, what was that poem?"

"'The Wanderer and the Fae', by Dicul Rame. My teacher made me memorize it." Mana cleared her throat and then declaimed:

"' _Do you wander, O human child,_  
 _into the deep Wild Wood?_  
 _Do you seek the Folk lost long ago,_  
 _to wake for ill or good?_

_Know you now the winding trail_   
_that leads so far away,_   
_past the gates of What May Be_   
_or so the poets say._

_Take my hand, O wandering soul,_  
 _and I'll Open all the ways,_  
 _walk with me and be my Heart,_  
 _and I'll grant you all my days_.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poet's first name is Lucid backward. Rame is from "screamer". (After all, I am the one who wrote it.) ;)


	44. Chapter 44

Mana, Yugi quickly learned, could be pointed at a conversational topic and trusted to run with it on her own with very little additional input. 

This suited Yugi just fine since he had a lot on his mind, not the least of which was Sheriff Bakura. Most likely the dragon hadn't eaten him. It happened occasionally, or so rumor said, but aureate dragons liked their meals meat-free. Any human who got himself chomped was probably just in the way.

Yugi was so far off the beaten path even _he_ didn't know where he was. With luck, that'd keep him safe.


	45. Chapter 45

The trail eventually led them to another curve of the meandering creek, this bend much deeper and wider. A fallen tree served as a natural bridge, dripping with ferns and fiddler vines, bark vibrant green with moss. The surface was slippery with moisture; Yugi crawled across on all-fours rather than risk falling into the white-water below.

Mana laughed at him, but waited for him on the far bank. On a plinth half-buried in ferns stood a marble statue, somehow not covered in moss and lush vegetation.

"Is it much farther?" Yugi asked plaintively.

"Not very. The Opener shows the way."


	46. Chapter 46

Stark white against the green tapestry of the forest, the statue almost seemed to glow. Mana angled toward it, glancing back to make sure Yugi followed. Up close, the white stone resolved into a humanoid figure with a vaguely canine head -- slender snout, graceful alert ears, rock-crystal eyes lined in gold. Yugi had seen something similar in Zorc's garden, no doubt stolen from ancient ruins.

But there were no ruins here that he could see. "What's it doing here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Who says it's nowhere? Maybe it's Somewhere." Mana bowed to the statue. "He'll Open our way."


	47. Chapter 47

There were other trails there, branching off from the statue's circle like sun-rays between the trees. Mana chose the path leading into deeper shadows. Wily-wisps danced around them as they trekked. Here, the sparks seemed brighter, livelier than Yugi had ever seen them.

"We're almost there," Mana assured him cheerily, a decided skip in her step.

That was good news. Yugi felt ready to keel over and sleep for a month. His saddlebags were made of lead, making him list to the left. "They won't mind you bringing home a stranger?"

"You're my _guest_. A new friend, not a stranger."


	48. Chapter 48

The village was like nothing Yugi'd ever imagined. It seemed more garden than settlement; they'd walked for several minutes before he realized the green mounds weren't hedges but _buildings_. Each house dripped with vibrant greenery and bright flowers, and bird-song competed with the chortle of dancing water from fountains and rocky waterfalls tucked among the plantings.

Even the cobble-paved path was greened by trailing mint and evergreen remembrance between the stones. Every step released the fragrance of the herbs to waft on the breeze. Stunned by his surroundings, Yugi wondered if he was dreaming.

"Welcome to my home," Mana said.


	49. Chapter 49

Mana ran ahead, throwing her arms around a man and babbling something at him in a language Yugi had never heard before. After a moment, she grabbed the man's hand and led him back to Yugi.

"This is my brother," she said, bouncing happily. "And this is Yugi Mutou, Atem. I found him in the woods."

Atem sighed. "You can't keep him, Mana. He's not a pet."

"But he's cute! ... _Fine_." She pouted. "I brought him home 'cause he's hurt. I told him you could help."

Atem glanced at Yugi. "You're injured?"

"Got shot by a nova-rifle." 

"Let me see."


	50. Chapter 50

Atem's eyes were darker than Yugi's own, mystic purple in the twilight. His hair was long and wild, held back from his face by a band of linen embroidered with some kind of blue flower. Like Mana, he was dressed simply in a linen shirt over jeaning trousers and sturdy boots. He'd removed his gardening gloves to treat Yugi's wounds and his hands were calloused but gentle during the examination.

"How were you burned?"

"Got shot."

"You can fix him, right?" Mana hovered anxiously. "I told him you could."

Fondly indulgent, Atem nodded. "I have some salves that will help."


	51. Chapter 51

"The burns will scar." Atem frowned as he finished applying aromatic salves and began wrapping Yugi's injured arm in some kind of velvety gray leaves. "The salves will help, but you went too long without treatment."

Already, the heat and pain were fading. Yugi figured he could live with a few scars, a reminder that he'd outsmarted the corrupt sheriff even if he hadn't quite dodged the sheriff's nova-rifle. And, more importantly, he had lived to tell the tale. 

Yugi surfaced from his thoughts to find Atem studying him. "Thanks for your help."

"I'm a healer. It's what I do."


	52. Chapter 52

Mana was waiting for him outside the healer's hut and greeted him as enthusiastically as if they'd been apart for days instead of minutes. "All better?"

"Some better." Did she think Atem was a miracle-worker? "Doesn't hurt, at least."

Skeptically, she said, "That's... good?"

"It is."

"Well... Okay." Enthusiasm returning, she chirped, "Hungry?"

"Starving!"

"Let's get something to eat, and then I'll show you to your room."

Hefting his saddlebags, Yugi nodded.

"You know, you could leave those with my brother..."

"Nah, that's okay." Yugi wasn't letting his treasure out of his sight, or the other artifacts either. "I'm fine."


	53. Chapter 53

The soup was grainy and tasted like Clunker's exhaust smelled, but Yugi felt better almost immediately.

Mana was smug as she ladled more into his bowl. "Grain-flower stew with clary and moonsage. Told you it would help."

After Yugi finished his soup, crusty bread, and hot tea, Mana led him to another of the mounds. "You'll be staying with me and Atem."

"How in the world did you make this?" Yugi gaped in wonder at the intricate green and brown walls, seemingly woven from living trees.

Mana opened the door, hardened leather fastened on a wooden frame. "We grew them!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Mechquine exhaust smells like fermented hay.
> 
> The tree houses are inspired by the living root bridges of India and by Baubotanik architecture.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridge
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baubotanik
> 
> Yugi calling the houses "mounds" is a sly reference to fairy mounds. (I only realized later that the description might sound a bit like hobbit holes. Ugh. Hobbits creep me out, so that wasn't intended! XD)


	54. Chapter 54

The village -- communal kitchen and baths, meeting hall, houses -- consisted of structures grown from the roots of long-lived neheh trees. The roots were coaxed into the desired shapes, reinforced where necessary, and adorned with flowering vines, mosses, and pieces of art that (at first glance) appeared every bit as organic as the growing things around them.

Mana led Yugi to a modest house near the healer's hut. A gilded serpent, denoting Atem's status as healer, twined through the weave above the door. Inside, comfortable rooms spoked off a central hub.

"You should rest," Mana said. "I'll wake you for supper."


	55. Chapter 55

The room was a garden: carpeted in moss, gauzy curtains drifting like fog in the window, and graceful branches thick with delicate gold and silver leaves arching over the bed. When Yugi brushed them with his fingers, the leaves tinkled like bells.

"Like it?" 

Startled, Yugi turned to find Atem watching him from the doorway. "It feels like a real leaf!"

"It _is_ real." Atem reached around Yugi to place a hand on a bedpost. "Why destroy a tree when it's happy to serve?"

"It's beautiful. Everything here is." Including his host. Yugi flushed, glad he hadn't said that aloud.


	56. Chapter 56

Atem just smiled and gestured to Yugi's wrapped arm. "Don't forget to use the salve before you sleep. And I brought you this." He offered a vial of pale lavender glass. Opalescent liquid swirled within. "It will help you heal."

Cautiously, Yugi accepted the vial. "What is it?"

"A concoction of my devising. You've my word it will not harm you."

For some reason, Yugi believed him. Uncapping the vial, he inhaled the aroma of spices and green herbs and something like the air before a storm. He swallowed it down and Atem rewarded him with a smile.

"Sleep well."


	57. Chapter 57

The bedsheets were soft and fragrant, smelling of rose petals and clean linen. Yugi settled onto the bed and was asleep almost before his head touched the pillow. 

He dreamed of a giant's staircase rising toward the heavens and a golden man crowned with stars. The man had eyes like twilight and hair like sun and shadows. He opened his hands and Yugi saw the Puzzle cradled in his palms. It shattered and reassembled into a beating heart that the man -- a king, surely -- placed inside Yugi's chest.

 _Return what was lost_ , said the king. _And he shall awaken us_.


	58. Chapter 58

True to her word, Mana woke him as the shadows were creeping longer. Yugi thought that he'd dreamed, but remembered only fleeting images and a sense of urgency that faded as he washed his face and straightened his borrowed clothing before joining his hosts in the central room where the meal was laid out on a low table.

Mana gestured to the cushion beside Atem, who smiled as Yugi sat down. "Sleep well?"

Nodding, Yugi accepted the bowl of root vegetable stew. Just like Mom made...

 _Mom_. "Oh, no."

His companions looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Can I send a message?"


	59. Chapter 59

"What kind of message?" "Tonight?"

The siblings' questions overlapped, momentarily confusing Yugi. He held up a hand to forestall more. "I just realized... I've been so stupid. Well, preoccupied with surviving, I guess. But I never thought..."

Atem laid a hand on Yugi's wrist. "Take a deep breath." He waited while Yugi did. "Good. Now, what have you realized?"

"My mom..." Yugi paused for another deep breath. "She doesn't know what's happened, or about the sheriff. What if he goes after her? For leverage, y'know? To force me to sell the farm... or to return what I stole from Zorc."


	60. Chapter 60

"I sense a tale," Atem said.

At Mana's prompting, Yugi recounted his recent misadventures.

"So, this cattlebaron wants your land." Atem's head tilted. "Why?"

"No idea. He just won't take 'no' for an answer."

"And now you've stolen from him."

Which meant if Zorc caught him, Yugi was dead meat. He tried not to fidget while Atem studied him, then asked, "What exactly did you steal?"

Reluctantly, Yugi drew his treasures from the saddlebags -- orb, scales, key, necklace, scepter, ring, and the pendant that was once a puzzle -- and set them on the table. They gleamed golden in the lamplight.


	61. Chapter 61

"I... I'm not even sure why I did it. I just knew I couldn't leave them with Zorc."

"The Keys to the Awakening," Atem said reverently.

" _What_?"

Atem exchanged a telling glance with Mana. "A tale for another time. You fear for your family's safety?"

Head spinning, Yugi nodded. _The Awakening?_ How--? No, better to concentrate on the comprehensible for now. He needed to warn Mom, maybe Joey and Tristan, too. But though there were living birds a-plenty in this village, he'd seen nothing like messengerbots. "Can I get word to them somehow?"

"I'll loan you my messenger," Atem said.


	62. Chapter 62

The messenger bird was all colors and none, an ever-shifting prism of delicate crystal feathers that shattered light into rainbows with every movement. Yugi had never seen anything like it. "How do I--?" 

Atem smiled and set the bird onto the table between them. "Simply hold this--" He pressed a smooth crystal orb into Yugi's palm. "--and think of your message and its recipient. The bird will do the rest."

"Geewhillickers! That's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

"Send your warning ahead. Then we'll see about returning you to your people--" Atem's voice turned cold. "--and dealing with Zorc."


	63. Chapter 63

Yugi thought the messengerbot incredible, but it was too unusual. It would stand out. What if someone intercepted it? 

Atem nodded when Yugi voiced his concern, then held his hand over the crystal bird. Something like a heat shimmer surrounded the birdbot and its glittering feathers dimmed. "Now only those who know of its presence, and the recipient, will see it." 

Yugi swallowed hard, questions tangling his tongue. "That... Was that...?What...?"

"Magic."

How could Atem be so calm? "What are...? You're _First Folk_?"

"So your people call us," Atem said serenely. "In our own language, we're simply 'The Folk'."


	64. Chapter 64

The messenger bird flew away, its wings silent despite its crystalline feathers. In a moment, it had vanished into the trees.

"Don't worry," Mana said, laying her hand on Yugi's arm. "The rainbowbird flies swift and true."

"Is it a long way to Domino from here?" Yugi had no idea how far he'd traveled. Between getting lost and his misadventures since fleeing Necrophades Ranch, he'd sure enough gotten turned around. Not to mention he had no idea where 'here' was.

Atem considered for a moment, then glanced at Mana. "Light a candle to the Opener so he'll speed its flight."


	65. Chapter 65

"Where _are_ we, anyhow?" Yugi'd never seen this place marked on a map, never heard rumors it existed. Not even in fireside stories.

"I told you," Mana said with a touch of impatience. " _Somewhere_. We're in the middle of Somewhere."

"More the heart of it," corrected Atem. "We who awoke with the Change guard those who still slumber in the sanctuaries."

Wide-eyes, Yugi said, "They're all here?"

"There are more villages like this one all over the world," Atem said.

Mana added, "Can't keep all your eggs in one nest!"

"With the Keys... The Folk may finally awaken."

"But... _how_?"


	66. Chapter 66

"That is not a quick tale to tell." Atem rose from his cushion. "And you need more sleep to finish healing. I'll give you more of the philter to help you, if you like."

It was on the tip of Yugi's tongue to argue, but a yawn preempted the urge. He forced his curiosity down and nodded. "You'll tell me tomorrow?"

"As much as I can." Atem offered him a smile and a hand up. "The philter?"

Yugi let Atem pull him to his feet. "You're being awful generous. I really appreciate it."

"My father always said kindness costs nothing."


	67. Chapter 67

Yugi awoke feeling refreshed despite more strange dreams.

The salve-and-gray-leaves treatment had healed Yugi's injuries from red-raw to pink new scars. Atem had left him clean clothing -- linen shirt, spiderwool trousers -- which Yugi donned after a rough wash in the water basin by his bed.

Mana collected him for breakfast, served in a sunny nook overlooking yet another garden. Atem handed Yugi a bowl of grain-flower porridge topped with berries, then drizzled honey over his own. "How're you feeling?"

"Much better. That salve is amazing." Yugi accepted the offer of honey. "Is it magic?"

"No more than any plant is."


	68. Chapter 68

"Are your injuries better?" Mana sounded uncertain. 

Now that he knew what she was, Yugi wondered if human healing was slower than First Folk's. His wounds were a bit tender but already covered with new skin, the healing greatly accelerated by Atem's treatment. "Your brother's a fine healer."

Mana beamed and, to Yugi's amusement, the tips of Atem's subtly pointed ears turned red at the praise.

"Just doing my job." Atem cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, I have work to do..."

Mana nudged him as he started to rise.

Shyly, Atem added, "Would you care to accompany me, Yugi?"


	69. Chapter 69

Yugi strolled with Atem through the dew-drenched garden. A creek wound like a shining ribbon through the green. The trees overhanging the water were adorned with summer ornaments: dangling orb-shaped nests woven by small yellow birds fluttering noisily around them.

As they walked, Atem pointed out useful plants and their healing properties. Some were familiar, but just as many were things Yugi had never seen before, things that Atem said needed magic to flourish.

On the other side of a bridge woven like a basket from flowering vines lay the healer's hut. 

Yugi found himself wishing the walk was longer.


	70. Chapter 70

There was a tiny woman in the garden. Green and naked as a daybird, with thistledown for hair and translucent leaf-and-vine "wings" that fluttered gently as she danced between the plantings. The flowers brightened in her wake. Gasping, Yugi spotted more of the little creatures (less humanoid upon second glance) thronging between the plants. 

"Geblings, sprites of soil and vegetation," Atem said, then gestured to the water trickling from the nearby fountain-fall. "They tend the land, make it healthier."

Fascinated, Yugi watched them work. "Why've I never seen them before?"

"Not enough wild magic. Since the Change, they're gradually returning."


	71. Chapter 71

"Come inside. I want to check your wounds." Atem led Yugi through a curtain into the hut's back room. 

This room was crowded with a healer's tools. Baskets and wooden boxes held dried herbs and flowers. Clay pots of thriving plants stood in neat rows on the window sills. One shelf was lined with glass jars dark with twisting shadows or bright with tiny, pastel flickers like the ghosts of fireflies. 

"I'm sorry I can't heal the scars." Atem's hands were gentle as he applied an aromatic oil. "But this will help."

Yugi shivered from the heat of his touch.


	72. Chapter 72

A glimpse of frantic color interrupted, drew Yugi's eye to the window. The rainbowbird fluttered inside and settled beside him.

"Looks like it bears a return message." Atem cocked his head curiously as he studied the messenger and then gestured to the back doorway. "I'll give you some privacy. When you've finished, join me in the back garden?"

"Okay."

Atem took a basket from its peg and departed, closing the door behind him. Startling Yugi, the rainbowbird dropped a scrap of paper into his lap. In his mother's writing, the note read:

> _Bounty on your head, stay away. I'm safe._


	73. Chapter 73

Yugi found Atem tending to herbs on a drying rack. He entered the garden in time to hear Atem scolding a gebling for trying to make off with a bundle of blue-gray roseander bigger than she was.

"You know better," Atem was saying as he pointed to a little wooden structure set near a fountain. "There's your share in the shrine. Now, shoo!"

Chuckling, Yugi asked, "Does that happen a lot?"

"Some of them get greedy." Atem sighed. "Makes more work for me."

"Can I help?"

Atem's pleased smile made Yugi's stomach flutter. 

"Certainly. I'll show you what to do."


	74. Chapter 74

"I had a strange dream last night." The king again, in that strange chamber, speaking words of hope and forboding. Yugi's hand shook as he dropped sprigs of mint into a basket.

Atem placed a warm hand over his, stilling Yugi's fingers. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Maybe?" Yugi was a little breathless, his skin tingling at the contact. He shook himself. "There was a city... or maybe a palace? But the sky was made of stone."

" _Underhill_?" Atem breathed the word, then murmured, "'Could it be? But you--'"

"What?"

Eyes refocusing, Atem said, "Tell me _everything_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time of year again: NaNoWriMo. I'm attempting to complete (or at least write new chapters for) multiple WIPs but may not have anything ready for posting until next month. I do have more chapters of this pre-written, so I'll continue posting them until I run out.


	75. Chapter 75

Yugi explained about the strange man in his dreams, the equally strange surroundings, and the feeling of portent that hovered around them both. Unfortunately, he recalled only a vague sense of what the man had said in those dreams and so couldn't relay them to Atem, who hung on Yugi's every word.

"It's so much like..." Atem trailed off, his gaze turning inward.

"Like what?"

Atem started, as if the soft words had pulled him from dreams of his own. "The prophecy of Ishtar the Seer."

"Never heard of it."

"No, you wouldn't have." Atem laughed. "Only Folk know it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently have over 20k words written for NaNo. \o/ Most of it for "Reflections in the Nile" because that was the fic that decided to speak to me this month. Can't wait to get these new scenes polished and turned into chapters!


	76. Chapter 76

There was a prophecy, Atem explained, made long before the cataclysm that had sent the First Folk into their hibernation. He demurred about telling it to Yugi himself, saying that it was much better heard sung. 

"Oh," Yugi said, trying to hide his disappointment.

Atem studied him for a moment, obviously musing something over, and then said, "There is usually a bard or two in the square at this time of day." 

He went on to explain that the Folk believed music, storytelling, and even dancing made the workday go faster and the workers more productive.

"Let's find a bard."


	77. Chapter 77

The village bustled with life. An old man hoed a row of onions. Another man, younger but bald, sat weaving baskets in the shadow of a khokh tree. A string of freshly-caught fish in one hand and a dripping net in the other, a woman strode from the forest's edge.

Music floated from the village center. Inside a bower of vines dripping with purple blooms, musicians played long flutes, stringed instruments, and drums while a singer crooned a catchy tune. The lyrics were incomprehensible to Yugi's ears, but his body understood well enough: _Let's dance_.

Catching Atem's hands, Yugi danced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: If you think you're seeing a David Bowie reference in any of my fic, you probably are. ;)


	78. Chapter 78

After the dance, it was to the basket weaver that Atem led Yugi. Atem called to him as they left the tiled square, where the dancers were already gyrating to a new tune, for the cooler shade beneath the trees. "Odion!"

Odion looked up and smiled as he recognized Atem. "My prince! How are you this fine morning?"

"Prince?!" Yugi stared at Atem, who flushed red to the tips of his ears. "I thought you were a healer?"

"I _am_." Atem looked a bit defensive and eyed Odion with displeasure. "My other titles are meaningless."

"Until the Awakening." Odion smirked.


	79. Chapter 79

Unrepentant, Odion continued, "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"

"Stop calling me that, for one." For a second, Atem pouted like a petulant child. Then he rallied, adding, "For another, will you sing the song of Ishtar the Seer?"

"The prophecy song?" Odion appeared surprised. "You've never seemed to like that one."

"I do not," Atem said. "But my friend here hasn't heard it. Will you sing it for him?"

Odion spared Yugi a considering look. "A human?"

Yugi nodded, a bit self-conscious as it occurred to him he was the only human in a First Folk village.


	80. Chapter 80

"I'm surprised you've brought a human here," Odion said, eyeing Atem. (Who was a _prince_. Yugi wasn't getting over that anytime soon.)

"Mana brought him."

"Ah. Now _that_ doesn't surprise me at all." Odion laughed and exchanged the basket he'd been working on for the lute lying next to him on the grass. "Where is the princess? I've not seen her all morning."

"She's running errands." To Yugi, Atem added, "We'll see her for mid-meal."

"Pity," Odion said, sighing. "Her voice is passing fair for the Seer's song. Ah, well. We'll make do."

Strumming the lute, Odion began to sing.


	81. Chapter 81

The bard began to sing.

" _When chains are broken in the Yet to Be,_  
 _Our Guardians shall fulfill their destiny._

_To castle and keep our Hope shall descend_   
_And stand reunited, the Folk to defend._

_Awakening comes in our darkest hour;_   
_Past and Present combining their power_

_To carry Keys of Gold to far Underhill,_   
_Secure in the mythical roots of Yggdrasil._

_Unlock what was locked, free what was bound,_   
_Open the Ways of the paths Underground._

_And once again shall all the Hidden Folk rise_  
 _With the return of magic and evil's demise_."

  
"...And so ends the Seer's Song." 


	82. Chapter 82

"But what does it mean?" Yugi'd never had to decipher a prophecy before. He reckoned some of the nuances might escape him.

"It is open to interpretation," Atem said with a wry grimace. "And many have. Ask any two Folk for the prophecy's meaning and you'll receive three opinions."

Odion chuckled, obviously agreeing. For some reason, that made Yugi feel better about his own confusion. 

After thanking Odion, Atem and Yugi left the square to wander about the village. Their stroll took them past many neat little houses and communal buildings. 

"Atem... The Keys... Are they...?"

"What you hold? Yes."


	83. Chapter 83

Did that make Yugi part of the prophecy? He shuddered beneath the weight of that notion. "So, what happens now?"

"This moment? We enjoy our walk and I show you more of my home. Later, we'll have mid-meal together."

Which all sounded great, but-- "What about the prophecy?"

Atem frowned. "The village council will convene to decide what to do about that."

Their steps had taken them to the stream which meandered through the village. Here, a series of stones formed a small waterfall and they paused to listen to the soothing sound.

"What will they decide?"

"I don't know."


	84. Chapter 84

"How did the Keys end up with Zorc, anyway? And with Grandpa?"

"It's a mystery." Atem sighed. "They should've been safe with their Keepers, not stolen or lost."

"Well, they're safe now." Yugi smiled, happy to have helped.

Atem nodded. "The Folk have sought for years to locate the Keys to bring all of our people back to the waking world. Thanks to you, now we can."

"Are there many villages like this one?"

"Not many, no. We are scattered over the world and well-hidden for now. Those of us who woke first are... gatekeepers, guardians for those who Sleep."


	85. Chapter 85

Yugi had so many questions, but before he could voice any more of them, Atem was called away to heal someone who had been injured while hunting in the forest. (At least, that was the impression Yugi had gotten from the breathless child who had dashed up to beg for Atem's help for their "papa".)

"Stay here," Atem said. "Either I'll return soon or, if it takes longer than I think it will, I'll send someone to escort you back to my home."

"Okay."

"I am sorry--"

"Don't be silly. Go help." Yugi smiled. "It's beautiful here. I'll be fine."


	86. Chapter 86

Yugi settled on a large rock -- warm from the sun, but well enough in the dappled shade for comfort -- that jutted out over the pool, and let his thoughts wander.

Honestly, he was grateful for a few minutes to himself. He needed some time to get his mind around everything he'd discovered since escaping Necrophadus Ranch. Had it really only been two days? It sure felt like a lifetime. 

The world was more complicated than he'd ever imagined and was about to get more complicated still -- but Yugi wouldn't trade knowledge for ignorance, especially if it meant never knowing Atem.


	87. Chapter 87

It wasn't as if Yugi hadn't known magic was real. You only had to look around to know that, especially since the Change. But people couldn't use magic, it just was. It was part of the world, part of nature. 

Maybe because humans weren't native to Endymion, its magic... ignored them? Well, not quite. Atem's salves had worked on Yugi. Then again, Atem had said the only magic there was what was inherent in the ingredients that went into it.

But no-one Yugi had known could use magic. Not 'til he met Atem. And now there were whole magic _villages_.


	88. Chapter 88

Blue-green creatures like tiny mermaids tended the pool, darting among the rocks and plants in bright flashes of cerulean scales.

"Get away from there!"

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Yugi almost tumbled into the water. Catching himself, he turned to find a woman glaring at him from the cobbled path.

"They don't like to be disturbed," she scolded sternly. 

"I was only looking--"

"How did you even come here, _trespasser_?" She gestured sharply, growing more agitated when he didn't move. "Come. The guards will know how to deal with the likes of you."

"Atem told me to wait here."

"What?!"


	89. Chapter 89

Yugi studied the woman -- long black hair, fine features marred by narrowed angry eyes, a simple sheath-dress -- and tried a friendly smile that was rebuffed with a scoff.

"I'm Yugi," he said, persevering. "What's your name?"

The look she gave him declared her intention to ignore the question, but Atem's voice answered it for her.

"Ishizu!" The man himself appeared around the curve of the path. "What are you doing?"

She spun on him. "What were you thinking, bringing one of _them_ here?"

Disapproval darkened Atem's expression. "'Them'?"

" _Humans_ ," she spat.

"Careful," Atem warned, "how you speak of my _friend_."


	90. Chapter 90

"You promised--"

"I promised nothing," Atem said, brushing away Ishizu's objection in obvious annoyance. "I was quite clear on that point."

Confused, Yugi looked between the arguing Folk. Atem was tense and unhappy, and Ishizu looked fit to be tied. She turned her glare on Yugi, who shrank back instinctively. Atem slipped an arm around him, making Yugi feel simultaneously better and yet embarrassed.

"Leave him out of this," Atem warned.

"How? 'This' is all about him!" Ishizu snapped. "I cannot believe you would risk our safety -- not just of this village but of all our people -- for a _Trespasser_."


	91. Chapter 91

"Wait! I'm not a threat, to you or anybody," Yugi protested. Well, maybe he'd be a threat to _Zorc_ , if he had to be. But it wasn't like he went looking for trouble. (He never had to; trouble always found him.)

"You are a threat just by being here." Seeing his incomprehension, Ishizu added, "If you leave here alive, what's to stop you revealing our secrets? Your life is meaningless against those of all our people."

Atem glared at her. "Not all are as blood-thirsty as you, priestess." 

"You'd kill me?" Yugi's heart was shattering. He couldn't believe it.

"Yugi..."


	92. Chapter 92

Yugi shook his head, not wanting to hear platitudes. He had to know the truth! He couldn't see gentle, kind Atem murdering folks just 'cause they'd run across this hidden village. It didn't fit the picture that Yugi'd been building since their meeting.

"We wouldn't kill you," Atem said, and Yugi released the breath he'd been holding. But the darkness remained in Atem's eyes. "But we've remained hidden for a reason, Yugi."

Ishizu interrupted, her eyes fierce. "Let us alter his memories!"

Better than death -- and it explained some of the taller tales -- but... "I don't want to forget you."


	93. Chapter 93

"Nor would I want you to," Atem said firmly, resting a warm gaze on Yugi.

Ishizu made a face, as if the very notion of Atem liking Yugi disgusted her. "You would not allow your personal... _interest_... to endanger our people."

Shooting her a glare, Atem sighed. "No, I would not. Fortunately, it isn't a question of my feelings for Yugi endangering anything."

"You cannot mean to keep him here." She sounded aghast, as if Yugi were polluting the village with his presence. "And if you allow him to leave with his memories everything will change!"

"Everything will change, regardless."


	94. Chapter 94

"Tell me, Ishizu," Atem said. "Do you not believe in your ancestor's prophecy?"

Ishizu drew herself up. Her bloodline took great pride in their Seers. "You know I do."

"Then should you not show respect to he who brings the Keys to fulfill it?"

Silence stretched between the three of them as Ishizu stood frozen by this revelation. Her mouth worked, voiceless, before she managed a word. " _He_ \--?"

"Yes." 

Without another word, Ishizu turned and marched toward the village center.

"Why does she hate us?"

"She fears all who are not Folk. We were invaded once. It almost destroyed us."


	95. Chapter 95

"Are all the... the Folk unhappy we're here?" Ishizu's reaction had shaken Yugi. "Y'know, on your planet."

"Some do not see it as a good thing, it's true." Gently, Atem took Yugi's hand. "But it's my wish that we will learn to share this new world of ours."

From history, Yugi knew that humans weren't always the best at sharing -- or at dealing with other cultures. "I hope so, too."

"That you and I work so well together helps me believe it will be so."

Flushing, Yugi offered shyly, "I like working with you."

Atem's smile was like the sun.


	96. Chapter 96

"Humans are strange to us." The tips of Atem's ears flushed pink and his gaze darted away from Yugi. "You're like us in enough ways that it makes the ways you _aren't_ like us rather disconcerting."

"Oh. I'm sorry--"

"Don't be." Atem finally met his gaze. "I didn't mean that there's anything _wrong_ with humans. Just... Some of us don't quite know how to deal with the idea of you."

"We weren't here when you all went to sleep." Yugi nodded. "Then you woke and there we were."

"You see the problem." Atem tilted his head, shrugging. "You were... _unexpected_."


End file.
